Wiggy, If you believe as I do, the ultimate set up hasn't been built yet.
Hear is a list of things that I figure the plane needs to be a success:
1. slow, very slow but able to do consecutive loops from level flight.
2. flying wing with detachable fins....fins that are "modular".
3. interchangable engine / tank mount that shears off in a bad crash and is transferrable from plane to plane. My 1/2A planes all have their own mounts that are built into each plane, but the detachable mount idea does work.
4. simple to build, light as possible and field repairable, balsa, balsa, balsa. 360 square inches is a lot of area for iron on film, which is heavy and expensive. Doculam, sealamen, or cellophane [lightest] works well with clear packing tape to seal off seams and re-enforce certain areas. An airfoil design that is rounded back to the spars, but has a flat bottom back to the trailing edge is easy to build straight without jigs and favors rightside up flight just slightly.
5. low probability of equipment damage....I've flown hundreds of matches and the only engine casualty so far is losing one entirely in the deep grass. IIRC, it was a plane with hidden damage and the engine simply left the plane mount and all. A few servos have stripped, but that is very rare. At 13-14 ounces, when you do have an equipment failure and the plane goes in at a shallow angle...it wont reach dirt, it'll just get hung up in the hay.
6. long matches [typically 20 minutes of action], get used to flying from a lawn chair and make sure that your drink is already in the arm rest. 1/2As drink up 2 ozs [use Hayes brand tanks ], and the .15 diesels will give long flights on 4 ozs, maybe closer to a 1/2 hour? The raw diesel will destroy foam, but I glass the center sections about 6 inches from center over the center rib to lock in the center rib and this fuel proofs that area. The center rib in the foamies is made out of pine or similar to support a pair of aluminum beams that the engine and tank mounts to. I only use 1 bolt to anchor the mounts to the plane, in a crash this allows the engine to swing to one side and thump into the glassed center section, instead of tearing out the center rib.